Fall of the Necromancer – Scenario 10: Thráin the Broken

Gandalf attempts to discover the truth about the evil that lies within Dol Guldur. He must navigate the twisted labyrinth of the dungeons there in order to break the enchantments of concealment. Meanwhile, lurking somewhere in the dark is a ragged creature who may be end up being quite important.

Playthrough: 1v1

Played on: Friday 20 February 2026

Scenario: Fall of the Necromancer (2021) #10 (out of 13)

Ruleset / profiles: 7th edition (2024 War of the Rohirrim Edition)

Participants

Good (1 model)	Evil (1 model)
Gandalf the Grey	Thráin the Broken
	5 Hunter Orcs (I used 1 with 2-Handed weapon)

Objectives

The game lasts until one side has completed their objective.

The Good side wins if Gandalf can disarm each objective first and then subdue Thráin.

The Evil side wins if Gandalf is slain.

Special rules

Sentries – The Hunter Orcs begin the game as sentries.

A Spell of Concealment – Gandalf must disarm the spells that linger over the five objectives. To disarm an objective, Gandalf must be within 1″ of the objective and successfully cast the Command Magical Power upon it. In the new profile, Gandalf no longer has Command, but I think Transfix is a suitable alternative (both are cast on a 4+).

The Wizard has come – Gandalf causes Terror in this scenario.

Grip of Madness – Thráin is not subject to his Shattered Spirit rule in this scenario. Instead, he is simply treated as an Evil model.

Subduing Thráin – Gandalf may not strike blows against Thráin if he wins a fight against him. This restriction ends when all five objectives have been disarmed, in which case Gandalf will not actually slay Thráin; rather simply break the madness that has taken hold of him.

Quietly in the Darkness – Gandalf may not use Sorcerous Blast or Collapse Rocks Magical Powers in this scenario.

Campaign bonus(-) – There was no campaign bonus for this scenario.

Pre-game tactics and thoughts

I didn’t actually have the time to think this through. :{

The game

The game is played on a 2’x2′ board, representing the dungeons of Dol Guldur. There should be five objectives placed around the board. One in the centre, and the others are approximately 6″ from a different corner of the board. Gandalf starts touching the centre of the northern board edge. Thráin is placed within 1″ of the central objective. The Hunter Orcs are placed 1″ within each of the 5 objectives.

1G. -> Evil begins. The Hunter orcs follow the Sentries rules, rolling as you’d expect. The topleft Orc moves toward Gandalf. Thráin makes a full dash down the corridor towards Gandalf on the right side. Not thinking things completely true, Gandalf decides to go right, away from the Orc (but getting closer to Thráin).

Unfortunately I didn’t take notes and the game became a bit cat and mouse. So I will finish this report up with photos and descriptions.

Aftermath

Victory for Good. This means that in the next scenario, Thráin may re-roll failed Courage rolls.

Post-game thoughts

This was a pretty fun scenario! With the new profiles, this has become easier for Good since Gandalf now has 2 Attacks, which is a huge boon. I think that does make it harder for Evil to win, though with the right dice rolling Gandalf could still go down. It is quite easy to get Trapped in these dungeons, and the Hunter Orcs are quite deadly, especially if they Charged and get their extra attacks (which is also thanks to the new profiles).

As for tactics, it’s probably best to save the Might for winning combats and to avoid Thráin as much as possible, since he cannot be taken out before all the objective markers are cleared. All in all, a fun, short scenario that could play out in a number of different ways.

In the next scenario, Gandalf must escape the dungeons of Dol Guldur. Which will be no easy task, considering he just uncovered the large scale of Evil hidden in the fortress!